


Protected

by carolinablu85



Category: As the World Turns
Genre: Cuddling and Snuggling, Family, Fluff, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-06
Updated: 2011-11-06
Packaged: 2017-10-25 18:51:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/273596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carolinablu85/pseuds/carolinablu85
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>"And then they lived happily ever after?"</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	Protected

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the luke_noah LiveJournal community's Challenge #13: "Schmoop." Be warned: ahead are blanket forts, Snuggies, Ethan, and adorable boyfriends. Thanks for reading!

It was the thunderstorm that kept Luke awake. It totally was. There was no other reason why he was tossing and turning in this (cold, small, empty) bed. It definitely wasn't because- for the first time in almost seven months- he was in a bed alone.

Nope. Thunderstorm. That had to be it.

He lay there on his back for another minute (he knew it was a minute because he counted the seconds between lightning strike and thunder... and also because the seconds ticking by on the clock were so obvious and fucking _loud_ ) before he'd had enough. This was ridiculous.

He threw back the quilt from his bed and stood up with a frustrated, indignant huff. He was an adult now, damn it. Or as close to one as he'd ever been before. He made his own rules. And Grandma didn't.

Right?

He slowed just as he reached the bedroom door, hesitating before opening it. He was pushing his luck here, he knew it. But then he weighed the outcomes in his brain- Emma's negative reaction vs. spending the night with Noah and...

Another bolt of lightning made the decision for him. He wasn't going to get any sleep in his old childhood room tonight. Really, come on- Grandma was letting his parents stay in one room, so why couldn't he and Noah? They'd been living together since February, had been "back together" since New Year's. Emma's Rules didn't _really_ apply anymore.

At least, that would be the excuse he gave if they got caught.

Thunder masked the sound of him closing the door and tiptoeing down the hallway to Noah's old room. He couldn't help but grin at the feeling of somewhat déjà vu that flashed through him at this- sneaking over to Noah's room in the middle of the night like he used to over three years ago. Who would've thought- after all that, after everything- they'd be where they were today?

Well, okay, who besides Noah. Noah always seemed to have more faith in love and fate and all that than anyone else Luke had ever met. It was kinda beautiful, Luke thought.

 _Speaking of beautiful_ , he grinned to himself, slowly pushing open Noah's door, hoping to catch his boyfriend in some perfectly sleepy (adorable) sight... and stopped short. Noah's bed was empty, and a flash of lightning lit up the room to confirm it. Empty. Not even a pillow or a blanket on top. _What?_

Luke frowned, let himself all the way into the room, and that's when he saw it. The two chairs in the room had been maneuvered to face each other, and the comforter that was supposed to be on the bed was draped over them. Underneath it, he could see the glow of a flashlight and hear the murmur of one, maybe two voices.

He smiled again, making his way over to the blanket fort. He crouched down at the "door," sneaking his hand inside and knocking softly on the floor. The voices inside immediately went silent. "Permission to come inside?"

There was quiet conferring, and then his favorite deep, warm voice spoke up. "I think the Lord of the land says it's okay." The words were followed by someone else's high-pitched giggle.

Trying not to laugh himself, Luke pushed back the flap the comforter made and crawled on in. There was Noah, the top of his head just brushing against the blanket above, sitting cross-legged with a flashlight and open book in front of him. And curled up in his lap, half-hiding from the storm in the folds of Noah's unzipped hoodie, sat Ethan.

"Hey," Luke sat down across from them, mirroring Noah's stance so their knees were almost touching.

"Hey," Noah scooted forward that half an inch so they were touching. "I couldn't sleep because of the storm, so Ethan was nice and brave enough to come keep me company." Ethan peeked out from behind Noah's sweatshirt, as though gauging Luke's response.

Luke kept his face carefully sincere. "Well, I'm a little jealous. I could've used some company in my room, too."

Ethan's eyes widened. "You were scared, Luke?" His voice was hushed.

Luke nodded. "But I think it's okay to be a little scared. And that's why it's nice to have Noah around. He's good at making people feel safer, right?"

Noah looked like he was about to make a face at Luke, but stopped when Ethan nodded emphatically. Instead he smiled, hugged Ethan a little tighter, and managed to tell Luke to _oh, shut up_ with his eyes.

Luke smirked back at him even as he reached out and pulled Ethan into his own lap. "Want to know something even crazier, big guy?"

Ethan snuggled in close, wrapping his arms around Luke's neck. "What?"

Luke turned and lifted up the flap of the blanket fort. "The storm's over," he pointed. Sure enough, the thunder had quieted down to a distant, almost comforting rumble. No more lightning, no more rain. "So how about we say good night to Noah and get back to sleep before Mommy or Grandma discovers you snuck out of bed?"

He could feel Ethan's stubborn, Snyder-esque sigh against his chest, but he nodded, already half-asleep. "Okay." Ethan wiggled around in his arms, reaching out for Noah. "Good night, Noah." When Noah leaned in close, Ethan pressed a sloppy kiss to his cheek. "Thank you for making me safer," he parroted Luke's words.

Luke felt his heart stutter a little at that, and saw it reflected in Noah's face. Though Noah recovered quickly, softly kissing Ethan on the forehead in return. "Good night, buddy. Same here."

Luke stood carefully, keeping Ethan in his arms and careful not to disturb the fort's foundations. He dropped his own kiss quickly into Noah's hair, smoothing it down with one hand. "Be right back," he whispered.

He carried a now eighty-percent asleep Ethan back to his room, tucking him into his little bed. "All right now, big guy?" he asked, making sure to tuck in Ethan's stuffed animal Nemo next to him.

Ethan nodded, the percentage creeping up to ninety-five. "You and Noah staying forever?" he asked, hugging Nemo close.

Luke smiled, shaking his head. "Not forever, Ethan. We're just here to visit for the wedding, remember? We have to go back to our home in California."

Ethan nodded a little. Ninety-eight percent, ninety-nine. "Disneyland," he murmured. One hundred. Down for the count.

Luke shook his head again. Ethan- no matter how often Luke and Noah tried to explain otherwise- continued to believe that anyone who lived in California actually lived in Disneyland. Luke slipped out of the room silently, making sure the nightlight was on as he went, and made his way back to Noah's room.

Noah had taken off and folded his hoodie, and was now setting it on his dresser next to the flashlight and old copy of Swiss Family Robinson. He started to pull the quilt up, but Luke had to stop him. "Wait," he called out quietly, closing and locking the bedroom door behind him.

Noah looked up, a little startled. "What?"

Luke grinned, hoping he wasn't blushing. "Leave it."

"The fort?" Noah asked, confused.

"Yeah," Luke got closer, sidling up next to him. Noah immediately (instinctively?) put an arm around his waist. "You went through all the trouble of putting it up, we shouldn't let that be for nothing, right?"

Noah still looked confused. "You want to...?"

Luke grabbed his hand, waggling his eyebrows playfully. "Come on, Mayer." He pulled Noah under the quilt, flopping down onto the pillows that were spread across the floor.

Noah chuckled as he followed, landing a bit more gracefully next to him. "Not too old for this?" he asked as he settled down.

"Never!" Luke turned enough to curl into Noah's body, slipping both hands under his t-shirt to spread his fingers wide and touch skin, pull Noah closer to him. He nuzzled his face into Noah's chest and breathed deeply, slowly. God, he could spend _forever_ just like this.

He felt Noah reach out and had to smile as his boyfriend grabbed one of the blankets off the floor and wrapped Luke up in it, tucking it in around him with the same care Luke had just used with Ethan. He tightened his own hold on Noah's back and hip and gave a quick, smacking kiss to his chin.

Noah raised an eyebrow. "What was that for?"

Luke shrugged. "I need a reason?" He grinned and kissed Noah again, brushing his lips against the blush on Noah's face. He was just getting comfortable again when he realized exactly what blanket Noah had just used. "Hey, I wondered where this got to!" he burst out excitedly.

Noah groaned. "What, did you think I was actually going to take this back to L.A. with me?"

He couldn't help but laugh, putting his arms through the Snuggie's sleeves. He could still picture Noah's face perfectly when Casey had given this to him for Christmas. 'Politely horrified' is how Luke would've described it. "Aw, I kinda like it," he teased. It was plaid, of course. "I can't believe you left it here."

Noah shook his head. "I will not have that abomination in our apartment," he vowed grumpily.

Luke laughed again, pulling it tighter around him almost defiantly. "It's a Snuggie, not a mutant," he lectured.

"It's a backwards robe," Noah corrected him, deadpan.

Luke shut him up with a kiss, rolling half on top of him for best access, angling his mouth just so. After coming up for air he settled with his head on Noah's chest, tucking himself under Noah's chin. "For a masterful fort builder, you have no imagination," he sighed, his voice tragic.

Noah's chuckle vibrated below Luke. "Dork," he muttered, though his hands continued to be gentle, secure, holding Luke close. "Used to make these all the time," he commented idly.

"Blanket forts?" Luke asked, glancing around at the quilt that hung over them.

He felt Noah nod against him. "Not usually this elaborate with chairs and stuff. But when I was Ethan's age and it would storm and I'd get scared? Flashlight, blanket, and Swiss Family Robinson. Usually helped."

Luke picked up Noah's hand, twisting his fingers around each of Noah's, one by one. "I can't really picture you as Ethan," he confessed. "His age, I mean. I don't know, it's weird to me. You've always been... you," he shrugged, hoping it wouldn't upset Noah.

Noah's free hand trailed slowly up and down his back, always there, steady and sure. "I didn't know what to do when he first came in here tonight," he said, the smile so evident in his voice that Luke didn't have to look to see it. "But then I remembered all those years ago, and, I don't know, it was nice. To make up for that now, or fix it, or whatever."

There wasn't any sadness in his tone, just peace, and Luke had to smile. He tilted his head far enough to the side to kiss Noah's chest before laying it back down again. "I still kinda wish you'd had a 'Noah' back then you could've gone to like Ethan does."

Noah just tangled his fingers tighter with Luke's, kissed the top of his head. "Doesn't matter. I've got a 'Luke' now, don't I? I'm happy."

It was stated so simply, so truthfully, that Luke actually wasn't sure how to respond at first. Then he acted all at once, grabbing Noah and rolling so Noah was now semi-on top of him. He threw the Snuggie around both of them, keeping his arms threaded through so Noah was trapped in it. Against him. Perfect. "Love you," he grinned.

Noah's eyes were a little wide at the sudden change in position, but he was smiling. "I love you too," he'd probably meant to say it in a teasing way, but- just like every time he said it since they'd gotten back together- the words came out with emphasis, sincerity, almost desperation. Like he needed Luke to always know.

Luke always did. He slanted his head upwards a little, mouth finding Noah's. One of the things he always loved about Noah- about them- was that they had a hundred different types of kisses. He was pretty sure there were at least hundred more they hadn't discovered yet.

With his arms tangled up in the sleeves he could do little more than just hold on, sliding them tight across Noah's back. He could feel Noah smile into the kisses and somehow loved him even more. One of Noah's hands was cradling his jaw, tilting it to that perfect angle. His other hand was on Luke's chest, somehow magically under his t-shirt, gently trailing through hair, skimming over muscle and bone.

Noah made that noise in the back of his throat, Luke answered it with one of his own, and then they both needed to pull away, catch their breaths. Noah dropped a quick kiss to the tip of Luke's nose and then rested his head down, forehead brushing against Luke's. "I know, baby. I know," Luke whispered, hands and arms still enveloping him tight.

Noah just gave a soft sigh, relaxing against him, not even trying to get away from the abominable Snuggie. "This is definitely better than Swiss Family Robinson," he murmured into Luke's ear, just barely loud enough to be heard.

"Oh yeah?" Luke slyly hooked a leg around him. "No more story time for Noah?"

Noah shook his head just a little, breathing deeper and slower. "Don't need it when I have you," he duh'ed, slight smile on his face. "Nothing to be scared of anymore."

If they weren't both already half-asleep, Luke would yank him forward and kiss him senseless right now. Instead he loosened the Snuggie's hold on Noah, allowing them both to roll to the side a little, semi-facing each other and mostly tangled together. "Too bad," he sing-songed. "I had a good story lined up."

"Hmm?" Noah hummed, his face buried in Luke's neck.

Luke rubbed his cheek into soft, dark hair. "Once upon a time there was a sweet, talented, amazing, incredibly hot guy named Noah Mayer-"

Said person rolled his eyes so hard Luke could almost hear it. " _Luke_."

"-Who had an even hotter boyfriend named Luke Snyder."

Noah's muffled laugh rang through their fort. "Sounds about right." He rubbed one hand slowly back and forth across Luke's stomach, seemingly without even realizing it. "Well? Then what happened?"

"Well," Luke hugged Noah close to him. "Hot Noah and Hotter Luke met, and thanks to a necktie, Hubbard squash, and a magical Christmas card, they fell in love. And they had their ups and downs, and sometimes it looked like they may not end up together-" he smiled sadly when Noah's hand tightened on him for a second, took a moment to kiss the crown of his head, "But in the end they just couldn't fight it. They belonged together."

He felt Noah's smile on his skin. "And then they lived happily ever after?"

"You bet your skinny, sweet ass they did," Luke grinned, lightly smacking the ass in question.

Noah mumbled something else, an insult of some kind probably, but just like Ethan he was oh-so-quickly falling asleep. He stretched out slowly, and Luke tried not to laugh when he realized Noah's big ol' size thirteen feet were sticking out of the fort.

Starting to tire out himself, he instead sank into the feeling of Noah's mouth still at his neck, of Noah's legs and chest and arms joined with his until they were one messy, sleepy pile of limbs. Perfect. What he told Ethan was true; being with Noah was safe, was like being protected from everything.

It was like being perfect.


End file.
